grinling gibbons
DESCRIPTION
Grinling Gibbons (1648–1721), the greatest of decorative woodcarvers, is seen in this study through the eyes of a fellow carver. His flamboyant cascades of lifelike blossoms, fruits, foliage, birds and fish dominated English interiors of the late seventeenth century – in royal palaces, churches and cathedrals, and great country houses.TRANSCRIPT
ONTENTSCPreface 6Foreword 7
Acknowledgements 8
Introduction 9
PART I ORIGINS 15
1. ‘In an Obscure Place ... by Meere Accident’ 16
2. The Years before Deptford 34
3. A New Discovery, a New Style 52
PART II THE FORMS OF GIBBONS’S CARVING 67
4. The Carved Surround 681675–1682 701683–1686 901687–1711 105
5. The Trophy 130
6. Embellishment 154
PART III GIBBONS’S TECHNIQUES 173
7. Form Follows Workshop 174
8. Making a Gibbons Carving 188
Conclusion 206
Notes 214
Chronology of Grinling Gibbons’s Life 218
Select Bibliography 220
Index 221